Football: Wenger agrees new Arsenal deal

LONDON - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has agreed a three-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2017, the BBC reported Friday.

The Frenchman is the current longest-serving manager in the English Premier League, having joined the north London side in 1996 and this season ended the Gunners' nine-year wait for a major trophy by overseeing their come-from-behind FA Cup final win against Hull City at Wembley.

The BBC added the contract extension for Wenger, 64, is "set to be signed and announced in the coming days", possibly as soon as Saturday.

Wenger was a surprise choice to succeed Bruce Rioch as Arsenal manager when he arrived at the club's then Highbury headquarters in September 1996 from Japanese club Grampus Eight.

However, he won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups in the first half of his 17-and-a-half-year Arsenal tenure, but prior to this month's dramatic 3-2 win over Hull he had not lifted a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.

The campaign just finished also saw Wenger guide Arsenal to a 17th consecutive season of Champions League football.

When contacted by AFP on Friday, an Arsenal spokesman was unable to comment on the reports carried by the BBC and other British media.